Brilliant, Ohio, 2007
Brilliant’s story
207 years in pictures
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 7 maps from 1904 on.
- 1819Brilliant is laid out
BrilliantOH
With 1,213 residents, this town was laid out in 1819.
Photo: Jmiller wiki · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
1,213
Census survey, 2020–24
Typical home
$83K
−5.9% in a year
Household income
$44K
median
Median age
46.0
years
Jobs based here
322
A commuter town
Is Brilliant a good place to live?
Brilliant’s best subject grade is an A for cost of living; its weakest is a D− for health. 11% of residents are under 18 in Brilliant, below both the Ohio town median (22%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). On hazard risk, just 5 of Ohio’s 1,718 towns do worse. The median household income is $44K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. Brilliant has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Brilliant stand out
Where Brilliant beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Typical home value
Brilliant$83K
Ohio$246K
Cost of livingA
1.4 years of income buys a home
More affordable than 93% of U.S. towns
Zillow Home Value Index; area median household income, Census ACS.
0historic places
HistoryB+
Laid out in 1819
A long history
A history going back 207 years.
32 measures vs. Ohio
0 better15 too close to call17 worse
| Widest gap | Brilliant | OH |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24.6% | 15.3% |
Worth knowing · HealthD−
Less healthy than 96% of U.S. towns
Trails OH on 17 of 32 CDC measures, beats it on none
Less healthyHealthier
CDC PLACES 2025 estimates.
Small town
1,213 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
How Brilliant grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Ohio), ordered by how far Brilliant is from typical.
HealthTrinity Medical Center East &trinity Medical Center West 6.1 miles awayD−Open →Hazard riskInland flooding tops the listDOpen →Cost of livingBased on what homes cost against what households earnAOpen →Jobs & incomeIncomes and work are among the weakest comparedDOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.6 of 20; 11.2% of households have no car; 6.6% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →SchoolsBehind 54% of Ohio districts on tests and graduationB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
Moving to Brilliant: who provides what
Brilliant is unincorporated, so Jefferson County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerAEP Ohio19.0¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterBrilliant Water and Sewer1 health-based violation in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet3 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesJefferson CountyJefferson County provides services here
Register to voteOnlineIn Ohio you can register online until 30 days before Election Day, in person until 30 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 30 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereDirector, Jefferson County Board of ElectionsJefferson County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2019
ZIP code4391343913 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Brilliant.
HousingCost of living grade A
Brilliant stands out in Ohio and nationally: the median rent there is lower
Among households in Brilliant, 56% own their home. Typical home values fell 5.9% in the year to September 2026.
$83KZillow home value
| Brilliant | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $536 a month | $944 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Brilliant$83K
Ohio$246K
−5.9%
value change, 1 year
1
homes sold in September
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
HealthD−
A larger share of adults have obesity in Brilliant than in most of Ohio or the rest of the country
Brilliant: 26% of adults say their health is fair or poor. Two figures for adults in the town: 17% have diabetes, 44% sleep under 7 hours.
4%healthier than U.S. townsD−Health Grade
| Brilliant | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 12% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 38% | 35% |
32 measures vs. Ohio
0 better15 too close to call17 worse
| What stands out | Brilliant | OH |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24.6% | 15.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 12.5% | 8% |
| More adults with heart disease | 10% | 7.1% |
Trinity Medical Center East &trinity Medical Center West
6.1 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
The biggest natural risk in Brilliant is inland flooding, at a very high overall level
The natural-hazard score from FEMA in Brilliant is 90 of 100. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid in 3 declared disasters, most recently in 2004. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 92% come from inland flooding.
90risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland flooding
3
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
With only 0.7 jobs per working resident, most people in Brilliant work out of town
Just 3% of Brilliant’s working residents have a job in town. Jobs based in the town fell to 322 in 2023, 53 fewer than in 2013. Also worth knowing: the town’s average commute stands at 20 minutes. The top destinations are Steubenville (18%), Weirton (8%) and Wheeling (4%).
3%work in town
| Brilliant | Ohio towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $44,000 | $75,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.4% | 6.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Brilliant3%
Steubenville18%
Weirton8%
Wheeling4%
Mingo Junction4%
13 mi
median commute distance
322
jobs based in Brilliant
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Brilliant has four seasons and pleasant summers
The range runs from 22° on a January night to 84° on a July afternoon, with about 15 inches of snow a winter.
15″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter24–40°
Spring40–62°
Summer61–83°
Fall44–65°
Nov 1
typical first frost
Apr 18
typical last frost
+1.0°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Nearby attractions
All 79 attractions →Acrisure Stadium and 55 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brilliant. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
8 mi MuseumMeadowcroft Rockshelter
35 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
36 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
36 mi Stadium & arenaPPG Paints Arena
35 mi LandmarkFort PittSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Acrisure Stadium: Fo2grfr, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Meadowcroft Rockshelter: Lee Paxton, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Duquesne: Sébastien Paquin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · PNC Park: alpineinc, CC BY 2.0 · PPG Paints Arena: Jleedev, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Pitt: Downtown_Pittsburgh_May_2008.jpg: Allie Caufield derivative work: GrapedApe (tal, CC BY 2.0
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Brilliant
16pages on Brilliant
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
6 within 15 miles of the center of Brilliant
Bethany CollegeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Bethany, WV5.9 mi$36,765 tuitionWest Liberty UniversityUniversity or college · Public · West Liberty, WV7.4 mi$8,893 in-state tuitionEastern Gateway Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Steubenville7.7 mi
About 5 of every 100 Brilliant residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Ohio.
A shrinking town
Brilliant has shrunk 11% from 2010 to 2020
1,482 counted in 2010 and 1,317 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
About Brilliant
Census-designated place in Ohio, United States
Brilliant is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in eastern Jefferson County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. It was named after the Brilliant Glass factory that once was located in the town. The population was 1,317 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area. Brilliant was formerly incorporated as a village, but it disincorporated on November 24, 1993.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.8 sq mi
- Elevation
- 680 ft
- ZIP code
- 43913
Questions about Brilliant
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Brilliant, OH expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.